New Clip Reveals There’s More to ‘Pacific Rim’ Than Just Giant Robots vs. Giant Monsters

Bryan Enk

Movie TalkApril 29, 2013

Well ... not really. But we at least learn a few more details regarding this ultimate smackdown scenario.

It's been five long years since Guillermo del Toro directed a feature film, and the "Pan's Labyrinth" maestro is back with a vengeance -- a rather big vengeance -- with "Pacific Rim," this summer's sci-fi action extravaganza that turns many a young man's geekiest fantasies into a multi-million-dollar monster mash.

The premise is simple enough: the Earth is under attack by huge alien creatures that came not from outer space but from the depths of the ocean, so Charlie from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" designs equally-huge suits of robot armor piloted by Jax Teller from "Sons of Anarchy" and friends. The aliens and robots then punch each other a lot, subsequently destroying major cities around the globe.

This new extended look at the film, which was originally screened at last month's WonderCon, adds a little more "what" and "how" to the story, with a more in-depth explanation as to the robo-suit tech (it's actually controlled via a "mind-merge" of two pilots) and a sound theory regarding the monsters' agenda (they attacked major cities first in an effort to clean out the "vermin" as they commence with their ultimate plan of Global Domination). You also get a look at Charlie Day's character, Dr. Newton Geiszler, who indeed plays like the actor's "It's Always Sunny" character if he were a brilliant engineer/scientist, at a fleeting glance at Ron Perlman, a longtime del Toro alum who isn't burdened with heavy Hellboy makeup this time around.

And, of course, there's more Giant Robot vs. Giant Monster action, with the clip ending with a rather intense head smash that only seems to make the surly beast even angrier. This is definitely del Toro's largest-scale film to date, making his last impressively big n' loud feature, "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (2008), look like a companion piece to his small, intimate indie debut, "Cronos" (1993).